Of Comedies and Tragedies
by d-nabiki
Summary: Solo could not see a reason to live on when his parents died on his 17th birthday. Not even his younger brother, Duo, enough a reason to. He wasted his life on drugs but sobered up too late. Duo had to take it upon himself to find him back.
1. Sorrowful Stories

Of Comedies and Tragedies

Part 1 - Sorrowful Stories

* * *

I hate comedies.

I hate tragedies.

I like sorrowful stories that sadden you to the bone. These are not of life and death, love and missed chances. But of sadness of waiting in vain. Not the kind when someone was stood up. It is of waiting in spite of knowing no one is turning up, even when the rains chills you deep down inside, you keep on waiting, waiting for someone or something you don't know. You only know you have to wait, even if it takes you a long, long time.

I always waited at the bus stand opposite my school watching the students rush out like massive flow of avalanche. It was where I always sat quietly waiting for my parents to take me home after picking my brother up from the other side of the town. It was an hour's wait before their car came flying down to a halt in front of me. I had not mind the wait. I was the older brother. Six years I had been the centre of their universe. He had to share the attention ever since.

I was barely sixteen when they stopped taking me home. I did not know who stopped to turn up first. Perhaps I returned home on my own before their car arrived. Or perhaps they told me not to wait for them anymore. I don't know. My brother told me they still passed by the bus stand I used to wait for them every single day he was driven home.

On my seventeenth birthday, they couldn't pass by the old bus stand anymore.

I got home early that day, took the car and picked my brother from school. We didn't speak. I drove all the way to Granny's house like the people told me to. It was the same city in which her house was at, but the distance couldn't seem to be much further away.

Granny had only one spare room that we had to share. But the room couldn't seem any bigger and our belongings could hardly fill the area. We could probably never be able to too.

I was seventeen when I drove their car for the first time. Seventeen when I saw the sceneries that passed by in black and white. Seventeen when I first held my brother and cried in his arms. Seventeen when my future ceased to be what it could be. Seventeen when I had to keep it all in me as their coffins were lowered six feet under the ground. The voices of condolences slipped by me. Like in those old movies, their mouths were moving but everything was ringing in silence, they were all in shades of grey. I couldn't see any color. Granny sobbed in her living room, holding my brother in her arms. But, still, there was no sound.

I was back in school two days after the funeral when I was acutely aware of their stares. Form teacher to unfamiliar teachers, schoolmates to close friends. Their sympathetic eyes followed my shadow everywhere.

I quitted school the following year. Started working, running errands, doing odd jobs for the money. The trust fund would wear off eventually. We need money to run on. Time spent away from home got more and more. The days started to get endless and the shades of grey coloring the city still wouldn't go away. And then one day, I lost track of my future.

There was a place I passed by that day, throbbing away in the night. Loud music drowned my buzzing silence. Warm bodies rubbing against me, flashing lights wailing throughout the place. We drank the night away and shot up in the back alley. It was the first time, after such a long time, I could see colors. I was hooked. I couldn't turn back anymore.

Reality hit me hard after the death of Granny. Her funeral was quiet; no one came, except for our neighbors. That's when I realized my brother needed to be taken care of. I returned home at eight that day, the second day, as well as the following day. I was twenty when I found the future I could vision.

I tried to start all over again. But I couldn't stop the drugs. I couldn't fight it. It got worse, I needed more. I couldn't work, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I couldn't look in my brother's eye when I talk to him. Couldn't let him find out about me. Couldn't. Couldn't let it happen.

It was then I took the same car and ran away.

I hate comedies.

I hate tragedies.

My life wasn't a sorrowful story, it started with a tragedy and ended in a comedy.

* * *

I do not own Gundam Wing or anything of it. I only own the plot (if it exists).

A/N: the corrected (grammar and spell checked) version.


	2. Wait In Vain

Of Comedies and Tragedies

Part 2 - Wait in Vain

* * *

Duo was barely twelve when he heard about his parents' death. They were killed while crossing a road by a drunk driver. It was his brother's birthday. And he had a cake to eat. His brother came in his parents' car that day. He had not understood.

Not in the principle office he was summoned to after school. They kept the news from him while waiting for his brother to pick him up. They were solemnly quiet. Duo had to fill the silence himself. He chattered aimlessly about the day's passing and entertained himself with puns no one thought were funny. He kept note of the passing time, looking at the watch on his wrist all the while. He got it from his parents on his eleven birthday and wore it religiously.

He had not understood Mrs. Hunns' hand on his left shoulder as he looked at his watch. He had not understood the sympathy in their eyes as they looked at him. He had not known why they would not laugh at his attempts at humor. He had not understood why their smiles were so bitter at the same time so unreal. He stopped talking. He concentrated on the things he knew.

What he did know was, it was 2.57pm when his brother arrived, 3.11pm when they left the school, 4.35pm when they reached Grandma's house and 5.06pm when his brother broke the news of mum's and dad's death to him. It was his brother's birthday and he hadn't had any cake.

His brother sobbed into his clothes as he held him, lying his head on the same shoulder Mrs. Hunns had her hand on. His Grandma was nowhere to be seen. Probably at the morgue, identifying his parents' bodies, he was not sure. His own tears never did come.

He got two weeks' off and still, no cake.

For five days he did not talk. He had not cried either. He could not sleep well. On the sixth day sleep claimed him for eighteen hours. The silence was comforting for the first time in 6 days. His brother had not shed a tear since his birthday. The funeral was under its way. A double burial. An end to his parents. A numbing pain.

His chatter came back full force after the burial. It seemed as though he had done his share of mourning. But there were no tears. There was no joy too.

He got used to sharing a room in state of crumbling with Solo at his grandma's place. Their old home was sold. This new place was cramped. It did not bother him the place was slightly covered in dust. It did not bother him the room was stuffy and only lit with one window fitted on one corner of the room between his and Solo's bed. What bothered him was Solo's increased nights spent away from the room. He cleaned the room from head to toe, scrubbing furiously at the wooden floors, wiping the slightly cracked lamp on the bed stand under the window, washing the curtains, cleaning out the closets. Solo remained unreturned most of the nights, but he kept cleaning anyway.

He spoke little to his grandma. He talked non-stop in his classes. He was never sent out to stand in class. He fought in school. He got himself in plenty of trouble. He was off the hook all the times he got caught. They tried to understand his pain. He never did understand their lenience. He never did understand his brother's absence in his life too.

No one bothered to cut his hair when it got long. No one remembered too. He brother stopped schooling and went on to working. He could never see his brother though they used the same coffee mug. They probably sat in the same seat in the dining room too. He pulled his hair into a ponytail when it gotten beyond his shoulder and in the way. He used the rubber bands his brother kept in their shared drawers. No teacher reprimanded him on growing his hair against the school rules.

He continued to score straight A's every examination. His hair hurt every time he pulled the rubber band off his hair to shower. He got an ibook from his brother on his thirteenth birthday from his brother's twelfth paycheck. He got his hair tied up into a braid by his grandmother while fiddling with his ibook that day. He got a new hair band along with the braid. He kept the note his brother left with the ibook in his private drawers.

_Happy 13th Birthday. Sorry I couldn't be there. Gotta work. Keep up your cool grades. Be with you every way. - From your old bro._

Duo was a little over fourteen when Grandma died. She died in her sleep. That was the day he thought he could finally get used to the strange braid growing behind his head. He did not cry after all. He thought perhaps his tear ducts were impaired after his parents died. That was why he never did cry ever since.

The funeral was rushed and quiet. Very few people came and the body was hurriedly cremated. Solo went back home everyday punctually at eight after the funeral day.

Duo was guilty. Guilty of feeling a perverse sense of relief. Guilty of feeling glad because Grandma is dead. Guilty because in that way, his brother had to come home at eight everyday. But he was happy. He set aside his homework he used to do studiously when his brother was not around. They chatted over dinner and laughed over the same television programme. He felt happiness and he felt guilt. He felt happiness and he felt guilt. Perhaps to him, they were all the same.

Good things were not made to last. Solo old habits returned as fast as it came. It was barely 5 months before Solo started to fall back to his old ways.

Duo began to cook, do laundry and clean the whole house religiously. The house was not covered in filth but Duo never could stop. Was the house not fit for Solo to live in? Was the place too small? He cleared the old room of grandma and moved himself into it. Solo's stuff remained in the bigger room of the two. Was he lacking the money so he had to work that long? He started to pay the household dues with his own private savings.

Was it all doomed from the start? His brother had meant to keep him away. He did not know when his brother took the old car and never came back again. He did not know why he went to the spot the old bus stand once stood where his brother used to wait for their parents. He did not even know how many days he had not slept since his brother went missing.

What he did know was, it was his sixteenth birthday he was left all alone, it had been 7 hours and 13 minutes since, it rained non-stop for 2 hours and 24 minutes, 57 cars had passed by where he stood and that he wasn't sheltered from the rain. He was waiting in vain.

* * *

I do not own Gundam Wing or anything of it. I only own the plot (if it exists).

A/N: the corrected (grammar and spell checked) version.


	3. Sad Old Tunes

Of Comedies and Tragedies

Part 3 - Sad Old Tunes

* * *

Duo woke up disorientated. His head was spinning in circles, his mouth was dry and his body was aching all over. All in all, it was not a good combination. He tried opening his eyes but they seemed to be stuck shut by crust. He raised his weary hands to rub at his eyes. Bit by bit he tried to pry opened his eyes but the brightness made it harder for him to adapt back to the land of living. He moaned into his pillow in agony.

After a few minutes of suffering, he finally could open his eyes to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling. It was of an off-white color with a ceiling fan (which was spinning at an awfully slow speed, it kept Duo entranced for a moment or two) attached to it.

"Finally felt like waking up?" a voice to his right asked.

He spun his head to the direction immediately and winced at the flare of pain that shot up his skull. His forearm flew up to cover his eyes after catching a peek. Said voice was of Chang Wufei, his school's head prefect, Senior Year. Great, he did hope he was not in any trouble since he could not remember getting into one. Yes, he did keep note of his mischief. He was not one to do anything serious that would threaten him out of school; he did have a promise to keep.

"You okay?" this time, the voice was a little softer, lacing with concern.

"Urgh...I feel dandy as can be. You try waking in my condition and feel it for yourself!" his voice sounded horribly hoarse, like he's been out there shouting and screaming and shrieking for 3 days and nights non-stop. And yes again, it was that bad.

"I take it that you are okay, since your sarcasm is back."

Duo fought the urge to roll his eyes, he was not so enthusiastic about having a repeat of the previous episode. He sighed and slowly turned to look at Wufei who was currently fetching him a glass of water.

"Did I get into any trouble?" Duo asked in a more subdued voice, sitting up with the help of Wufei and taking the glass into his hands. He sipped at the welcoming water.

"Like hell you didn't!" Duo flinched a little at the tone. Wufei sat back down in his seat beside Duo's bed, putting aside a book he appeared to have been reading before Duo woke.

"You fainted outside your brother's old school. Those people could not find your guardians so they contacted the school instead." Wufei paused, searching Duo's face for any sign of distress before continuing "I volunteered to come and help contact your guardian."

His guardian. A shadow of hurt flickered past his face before he grinned darkly at Wufei. He was sure he was in deep trouble. How was he going to explain the absence of his guardian and the way he ended up in this state? He could not possible said his brother just forgot to return home one day, could he?

Wufei backed a little at that look. He was never comfortable when Duo do that grin. It was not that the grin an implication of something up Duo's sleeve, nor that he was afraid of Duo (in fact, he suspect it was quite the opposite). More perhaps, he was afraid to know what Duo was thinking at the moment he gave the look. He understood Duo hadn't had an easy life.

"I see..." Duo uttered quietly after a few decided moments. Then, Wufei lapsed into an awkward silence on his part while Duo pondered over matters.

The doors of the room squeaked a little as it opened, wavering uncertainly. A blonde head was seen poking into the room. Duo was thinking of a nurse on her first duty. Wufei was thinking on entirely different lines, he was thankful for the interruption. The blonde head tilt up and a boy of about their age looked in with blue-green eyes.

"Err... Did I come at the wrong time?" He smiled at them. Without exactly waiting for an answer, or a question in this case, he invited himself into the room and walked towards Duo.

Duo looked at Wufei with raised eyebrows, as high as he could get them to without aggravating his condition. Wufei smiled a little and shrugged before standing up beside the stranger.

"This is Quatre and he sorts of knows who you are. I supposed you would be wondering who he is. He's the one who nearly knocked you down and brought you to the hospital. And Quatre? You didn't come at the wrong time. Duo's fully awake."

Oh so that was how he ended up in the hospital. This certainly filled some gaps Duo had been missing.

"Since you already know me and all... Thanks?" Duo looked at the now named stranger, no, Quatre who was, in turn, looking at him expectantly.

"You are welcome. I have to say it was quite a scare, having someone passed out at the front of my car when I have just gotten my license. I thought I have to give my license back as soon as I got it." He laughed a little.

"I am... sorry?" Duo apologized warily.

"No, no. It was nothing. If anything, I should be the one saying sorry." Quatre looked all flustered waving both his hands 'no' at waist level while saying all that.

"There's not need for that. He's lucky considering he met you of all other drivers who would really have knocked him down. And you brought him to hospital in spite of." Wufei said all of it without rolling his eyes, Duo was impressed but that was the Wufei he knew all right. He would expect Wufei to propose to his future wife like he would, casually order coffee.

Quatre looked visibly calmed and smiled again at Wufei, he turned to look at Duo. "Well, since you are awake and alright I guess I have to get going. I just moved to town and everything's in a mess. I need to get my school transfer done and my phone set up." Quatre met Duo's eyes sheepishly. "Gosh, I am not making a good first impression, I am?" He dusted his shirt dramatically and stood up straight.

"Well, here goes. Hi guys. I am Quatre and I have just moved to this town. I will be transferred to your school in an hour's time once I get done with some minor details, so can I have the honor of having you guys as my first friends here and have the pleasure of being guided around in school on my first day?" He held out his right hand to shake but both Wufei and Duo had been a little stunned at his display that they raised their right hands out exceedingly slow, unsure of who should shake his hand first. Quatre sighed and thrusted both his hands out to shake theirs at the same time.

"There, introductions all done right! Really have to run. Seeya guys." Duo and Wufei stared after him as he rushed out of the room.

"Strange guy, isn't he?" Duo asked after a moment.

"I would beg to differ. The right word's... Interesting...?"

* * *

I do not own Gundam Wing or anything of it. I only own the plot (if it exists).

A/N: the right part 3 as said (grammar and spell checked!)


	4. Old Fools? I admit i am one

Of Comedies and Tragedies

Part 4 - Old fools? I admit I am one.

Warning: senseless jokes.

* * *

Trowa was early for school today. He sat at his usual seat (last row of the class, second column from the windows that showed the field three stories below), staring at the seat next to him. He sighed inwardly and promptly stood up to the backdoor of the class waiting for people to show up. He knew he was getting impatient, and there was no telling when that control he had was going to run out.

He leaned against one side of the door, arms folded, eyes staring off in space.

It had not took him long to think before the class was filled up gradually. He greeted and waved to a few. Some patted his shoulder on their way in class and one managed to push him by his back into the class. The usual practice. But.

Their original form teacher was on maternity leave since the previous day. The whole class would have been quite pleased because they thought they could finally escape the clutches of Evil Une (or so they called her). The woman swing between both extreme ends of the mood bar like a child on a swing (a speed addict at that), thus the class had to be kept at the edge of their seat nearly all the time. It was only now they realized how wrong they were to have thought Une as the worst. They unwittingly challenged the power of worse and gotten themselves stuck with a teacher whose temper seemed to be fueled by the surface on the wrong side of Mars (in normal circumstances, any side of Mars would be hot enough, but it did not work for her that way).

Taking Evil Une's place was Irascible Noin. IN, in short.

When Ms. Noin stepped into the class, she was greeted with silence. A scowl decorated her would-have-been-pretty-without-that-scowl face. Her black short hair was kept in place today, it seemed that she had gel her hair back to keep any from falling in her face. Her brows were knitted as she glared about in the class suspiciously.

"Row Call." She said.

If one had known Noin before she had taken up this class, they would have known her to be sweet and caring like any other aspiring teachers were before they stepped into another side of hell called school, filled with devilish and scheming kids plotting daily horrendous pranks to drive them to the point of desperation where they had to rely on feeling the grounds for any misses with toes. And oh, that was her, by the way.

"Duo Maxwell!"

"Absent!" the voice loud and too cheerful for liking.

"Again?" An inquiring brow rose.

"Err...Ye..yes Miss Noin." The voice trembled slightly. He gulped. And then a pause.

"Well, Next. Ray Myers!" The relieved figure slid down his chair a little.

Trowa suddenly hit a revelation. He knew why she always sounded so familiar; she sounded exactly like his Dad, the military man. (Or aspiring-military-reject-turned-police-officer.) Well, that certainly explained some things.

He turned to the empty seat beside him and shook his head. He had better do something about it.

The list rolled on. And then, it ended.

"Class. Before we start, I would like you to meet a newly transferred student all the way from California."

The class rose in excited whispers. A glare from Noin set the class back to normal again.

"And this is new student, Quatre Rabera Winner. You," She turned to him, "introduce yourself and then grab a seat."

The new boy nodded and smiled graciously at the Ms. Noin. The class gasped. That had to take guts. Then what happened next took them by surprise - the IN managed a small smile in return!

Of course, this was no surprised. As said, if there had been more of Quatres in the previous school she taught in, she might have been what this class could have bullied into her present state.

The Quatre guy talked politely and vaguely about himself before bowing slightly. He then proceeded to walk in the direction of an empty seat.

Trowa watched as the new boy walked towards him. He knew what he was going to do and the day Trowa stayed, he was not going to let him do what he was going to do. He raised a hand to stop the new boy. The new boy was taken aback as he looked at the held up hand. He stepped back with a slightly hurt look.

Well, that startled Trowa. He stood up and quickly explained himself.

"Sorry, the seat is taken by my absent friend. But if you want this place, you can always take it till he returns."

The new boy looked up at him in relief and smiled back.

"I see, but if I were to do that, I will have to switch seats again. Thanks for the offer but I think I will rather take the seat over there." He pointed to the seat diagonally left of Trowa's. "What's your name, by the way?"

"If you want to socialize, please do so after class. Now get back to your seat and we'll get things going!"

Feisty Noin was at work, Trowa noted dully. He was half expecting a 'drop ten' countdown(1) for the new guy if he walked any slower.

Quatre hurriedly sat in his newfound place and dug out his book for his first lesson in a new place.

It was an uneventful almost-an-hour before the bell rang. Noin walked out and the next teacher came in dutifully on time.

It was a painful hour. There were several growls of stomachs in the class. Many were dozing off. And Quatre was having a hard time trying to keep his eyes open. Though one stuck on his mind uncomfortably since that second teacher did a row call.

It was recess when Quatre decided to approach Trowa.

"Hello," a friendly tap on Trowa's shoulder.

Trowa's head snapped back and blink at the new student.

"Hey."

"I caught your name at the second row call. So you don't have to tell me now. I am kind of alone at the moment and you seemed like a nice person, so can I join you for lunch?"

"Sure." Trowa smiled and replied casually.

And it was when they bought their food and settled at a seat that Quatre popped the question that had him troubled since the second class.

"So, is Duo Maxwell your friend?"

Trowa raised a suspicious brow and answered, "Sort of."

"Oh good! May I ask if you know why isn't he back in school yet?"

"Yet?" The other brow was raised but hidden under his bangs.

"Oh. I am guilty of... You see, I nearly knocked him over when I first reached the town. So I sent him to hospital and found out that he was from my new school as well. I called the school and left him in their care since I had lots of work to do. I came to school today with the intention of apologizing to him but I found out he was in our class and incidentally, not at school. So I think he could be in worse condition than I thought! It's being bothering me since that row call and I thought you were the best person to ask since you were the only person to speak to me today besides the teachers."

It was all said in one breath.

"Oh." Trowa's look had already turned amused, midway of Quatre's speech. "He'll survive."

"But... you know what happened to him?"

"No. But don't you worry."

That ended the conversation with Trowa eating in comfortable silence and comfortable silence eating away at Quatre.

Finally, it was at the end of the class of the _next day_ that Quatre felt stupid.

The last teacher called Trowa to stay back for a while as the rest went off. Quatre had taken a much longer time to stuff his books about the desks and his bag. Therefore, with his back to them, he overheard the conversation.

"Trowa, would you mind taking these assignments to Duo?" her hands shifted a pile of paper onto Trowa's upturned hands.

"Sure. No problem." Their hands brushed slightly as the teacher beamed at Trowa and left.

Quatre turned towards Trowa who was all alone now. Wasn't Trowa supposedly a casual acquaintance of Duo?

Trowa turned to look at him. Did he say that aloud?

"That is if you think they had steered clear of each other's path since nursery. Best of friends ever since." The voice was oddly familiar. Anyway, that promptly cleared Quatre's doubt of the former.

"Wufei." Trowa greeted.

"Wufei!" Quatre gasped at the figure standing outside the classroom door.

"Hi, Quatre." he turned to Trowa, "Barton, I need you to pass Duo something, will you?"

"Sure, since I have to head that way, anyway." he waved the pile of papers in his hand.

Wufei passed an envelope to Trowa and growled when Trowa tried to open it "Read it and die."

"I won't. No death wish." he piled the envelope on the assignments and patted it assuringly.

"Good." Wufei smirked at both of them and left.

Under normal circumstances, Quatre would find the entire conversation amusingly. And this was one normal circumstance, except he was sore at being played a fool.

"Trowa! You didn't tell me you knew Duo that well! For two days that I have been asking about him!"

"I didn't? Well, now you know."

Quatre gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, you are right. There's something I would like you to do for me."

"Why not? Three good deeds in a day and I am two step ahead of scout's honor." he said without betraying any humor in his expression.

Quatre laughed lightly and guided Trowa towards the direction of the school parking grounds. Leaving Trowa under the porch, Quatre moved towards a car (it looked like a white Benz from afar) speaking to the driver. He gotten a white envelope(2) out of the car.

"Would you..."

"Sure. To Duo, of course."

"...pass it to Duo... Right." he laughed, "Thanks a lot! Though I would like to visit him myself but I don't think it would be nice to call on him just like that."

"It's no problem." Trowa found out that Quatre's politeness was infectious when he instinctly smiled in return again.

"See you in school tomorrow then?"

"Bye."

And they both walked in opposite directions.

* * *

I do not own Gundam Wing or anything of it. I only own the plot (if it exists).

Notes -

1. In local military, drop ten would mean doing ten push-ups on the ground. Sometimes, Sergeants will count drop ten, drop twenty, and then drop thirty and onwards to hurry recruits into action or conformity if they don't want anymore extra 'exercise'. I don't know if it works that way elsewhere though.

2. Seems to be selling quite well in that area. But it's also the only thing their local stationery shops sell (besides the usual paper, pen, pencil and eraser). It is well rumored they have a hidden white envelop making factory in their small town.

A/N: It's a big change of style from chapter 1 and 2. The previous two chappies were more clouded with emotions and written from the characters' point of view. They were more stylized. I was originally planning to experiment with different writing style per chapter, but the results would be disastrous. So from chapter 3, it will be in the style of prose. But I wonder why chapter 4 seemed so quirky compared to the previous one. I tried toning my sarcasm down, yanno. Really. A question. Is it roll call? or row call? or an entirely different thing? Can we just call it taking attendance?

Working on the plot and this is essentially a filler chapter. To fill up the gap between chapter 3 and 5, else they don't flow. The attempted humor (see notes 2.) was, honestly, pretty lame. But I hadn't had the heart to take them out. All chapters were checked for spelling and grammar.


	5. I stand on my own

Of Comedies and Tragedies

Part 5 – I stand on my own

* * *

"Duo? You in?" Trowa banged on the door when he found out the doorbell was not working.

It seemed that the banging had not worked either. He stood back at the doorstep feeling stranded, bag hanging on one shoulder, papers clutched in one hand. He bent forward at the window, head tilted, trying to catch a glimpse of the interior of the house through the small gap of the curtains. Duo had to be somewhere in there; there was nowhere else he could turn to. But it was no use trying to peek through a glass into a place darker than the one he was at.

Trowa leant onto the door and sighed. Was he going to wait here the whole day for Duo to answer the door he freaking ignored for 20 minutes for some reason? He had three tasks on hand. There was no doubt of backing out now that he was here.

He set aside his bags and papers and began looking about around the front door. He remembered Duo hid a spare key outside just in case he gets locked out. Living alone has its disadvantages.

He carefully dug out the soil of the dying plant hanging by the door. No sign. He placed the soil back and lifted the rug. No keys. He then felt about the underside of the window and found a protruding surface. It was the key stuck glued to the underside by a black masking tape. How Duo-like, Trowa mused.

The prized key was in his hands now. He carefully slotted it in to the keyhole and turned. Sweet. The door swung inwards to allow Trowa to enter. He picked the stuff lying on the floor and threw them onto the old couch in the living room. He held on to the papers.

Duo was nowhere in sight. He slid the keys into the back of his jeans pocket and began to search the small house for Duo. Trowa scanned the house. It was not a mean feat. Three guesses to where Duo is and no second look. Trowa's answer was unquestionably his room, his room and his room. It used to be his grandma's room though, before Duo moved in to it. Trowa never did ask why Duo did that. But he roughly understood why, he was as morbid as Duo in that sense. That was perhaps why they clicked so well.

He pushed the door inwards all the way to reveal one Duo lying on the bed, ears occupied with headphones blasting loud music from an mp3 player clutched in the hand of the arms covering his eyes. Trowa quietly stalked towards the unknowing Duo and raised a finger to poke at his sides without disturbing the bed. The result was a highly-strung Duo who jumped about 1 foot off the bed, tearing off his earphones and landing on the bed on fours, scanning about the room with slightly perturb eyes. He frowned at the figure sitting by his bed.

"Trowa!" he snapped, throwing his pillow onto Trowa's face. Trowa did not duck, instead, he grabbed the half-heartedly thrown pillow and propped it on his lap.

"Hey you." Trowa said, one corner of his lip slightly uplifted.

"How did you get in here?" Duo demanded.

"Why didn't you come to school?" Trowa countered.

Duo's eyes narrowed but comment no further.

"So why did you come?" Duo started, his tone took a turn of being genuinely curious.

"I thought it would be obvious." Trowa mocked a disappointing face and shook his head. "Your best friend is here to visit and that's all ask him."

"Don't pull that friend thing on me, Tro. You don't do that friends stuff. So, tell me, why are you here?" he peered at Trowa, body propped up with two hands.

Trowa smacked the pillow on his lap onto Duo's face. Duo was too stunned to move, staying still for a moment while the pillow fell between them. He blinked twice and then tried to retaliate when Trowa shoved a load of papers in front of his nose.

"Tell me it's not what I think it is..." Duo stopped halfway between them. He buried his face into the pillow and groaned. The papers landed on his head. He pushed them away without raising his head.

"Your fault for skipping school so frivolously. Not all are assignments, though. Two letters on top are for you. I'm thirsty." Trowa stood up and walked towards the door.

Duo's head snapped up, "Letters? For me? Don't tell me it's some complaint or absence letter. I am on medical leave, you know?" he called after Trowa's back, which had disappeared into the kitchen.

"You that worried? You were the one deciding to skip school, read them first. You want any drink?" Trowa called from the kitchen.

"Soda, in the fridge! Would you be so kind to boil me a kettle of water at the same time? I am kind of running low in drinking water." Trowa shook his head in resignation as he set about the task of boiling water.

Duo shifted his attention to the envelopes. He noted that nothing was written on both envelope and then, carefully, ripped off one side of the envelopes. He poured out the contents onto the bed. He picked one up to read at random.

Trowa returned to the room armed with two cans of soda. He threw one can towards Duo who caught it deftly with one hand. Trowa sat down on one edge of the bed leaning on the headboard while Duo laid on his stomach, feet towards Trowa, silent in reading.

The kettle whistled. Trowa poured the rest of the content in the can down his throat and ran to the kitchen. When he was back in the room, Duo was kneeling in a pile of paper, looking up at him in a shocked daze.

"Something wrong?" Trowa raised an eyebrow at Duo.

"I...gods...Trowa, what the hell happened?" Duo was shaking his head away, climbing towards Trowa.

"You know that new guy Quatre? He said he's in our class." He said as he stopped to kneel in front of the standing Trowa.

Trowa nodded.

Duo continued in an awed hush, "He gave me five hundred bucks to cover my medical bills!"

Trowa's eyes widened slightly. He had foreseen that coming, though. He grinned at Duo, "And that's not a good thing?"

"But..."

"Accept it. He was guilty like crazy over your absence in school. You should see it. This will make him feel better. He's rich anyway, he got picked up by a chauffeur after school." Duo gave him that look. "Yeah. That sort of rich."

"But this..." Duo looked at the check in his hands. Trowa nudged his arm. He then hesitantly set it aside at the bed stand.

Trowa noted he avoided looking at the other letter.

"What about the other letter? What did it say?" Trowa pointed to the letter at Duo's feet.

Duo did not answer. Instead, he picked the letter up and shoved it in front of Trowa. He took the letter and read the contents.

"Do you think like he does?" Duo asked immediately after Trowa lowered the paper.

"About the adoption part? I don't think I can say the same since I don't think Catherine will want you. Besides, I don't really want a brother like you." He got a smack on his head for that.

Trowa was an orphan like Duo. Except, unlike Duo, he never got to know who were his parents. All his life he lived in an orphanage in Duo's and his town. A nun in his orphanage, named Catherine, took a liking to him and adopted him as her brother when he turned ten. And it was the two of them ever since.

"Not that part." Duo said, "the Solo part..." this was spoken more subdued.

Trowa placed his hands on Duo's shoulders. "Honestly? I don't know. I am not Solo. We don't even know why he left. But I know you won't want to admit the part even if it turns out to be true."

"You think he's not coming back too, don't you? You think I should take up Wufei's offer, don't you? You know, I know for a fact he will." the last sentence was spoken almost in whisper.

Trowa sighed internally.

"He said it isn't a permanent arrangement. When Solo comes back, his parents will withdraw the adoption thing. It will be a temporary solution." He drew Duo into his embrace. Duo clung instinctively onto him like he was the only thing supporting him.

"When Solo comes back..." Duo repeated slowly as though it would disappear any moment if he spoke too fast.

"It's been 4? 5 months since he left? Duo, you are barely 16. Too young to live alone, too old to be adopted. His parents are kind enough to offer you a chance at life. Don't cling onto the wrong hope. Think carefully about it."

Duo did not answer. But Trowa knew what Duo was thinking. Morbid. Like he was.

* * *

I do not own Gundam Wing or anything of it. I only own the plot (if it exists).

A/N: Yep. Heero's in! Eh... when is he appearing anyway? scratches head Soon I hope.


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